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2Fall/ Winter 2002

The ProblemI often receive a Word document

by e-mail that is several hundred

kilobytes (KB), yet only com-

prises one page with a small,

embedded bitmap, such as arésumé photograph or a company

logo. The larger the document

size, the longer it takes Word to

“repaint” it while editing or view-

ing, the longer it takes to print,

and the longer it takes to e-mail

or download from a web site.

Whereas I probably would not

notice any appreciable delay with

a 1-page document, I would

notice the difference with a typi-

cal proposal document of several

tens of pages, each with an

embedded graphic of some kind.

For example, suppose you take a

picture with a digital camera of a

new employee to add to their

résumé. A 1-megapixel camera

produces a portrait bitmap image

of, typically, 864 pixels by 1152

pixels. This results in a JPEG file

of around 240 KB. Now, you

insert this picture into a Word

document—the employee’s

résumé. The picture is initially

very large, so you grab the corner

of the picture and shrink it down

to the required size, say, 1.5 inch-

es wide on the page, and you

might crop some unwanted areas

off the picture.

Happy with your results visually,

you save the document. The doc-ument now only contains a small

picture, right? Sorry, you’re

wrong! You have not compressed

the picture, merely squashed it.

The file will be around 240 KB

larger than before you inserted

the picture. That probably takes

a 1-page Word document up to

around 300 KB—or around a

minute of download time over

the Internet on a 56K dial-up

modem.

Extrapolate those figures to a typ-

ical proposal document and youcan end up with some enormous

file sizes, and corresponding long

download and printing times.

Large bitmaps also slow down

editing, because it takes Word

longer to repaint the screen

when you scroll the document.

“But,” I hear you say, “I want the

highest quality for my printed

documents!” Don’t we all, but we

don’t need huge bitmaps to

achieve it. In fact, printing a

bitmap at a resolution of more

than 150 to 200 pixels per inch

(PPI) achieves no noticeable

visual increase in quality. Even

high-end laser printers, such as

continued on page 3.◗

How to correctly set bitmap resolution to minimize file size,maximize editing and printing speed, yet maintain quality

Wordman’s

ProductionCornerThe PPI Perspective



3 Fall/Winter 2002

continued on page 4.◗

◗ Continued from page 2.

the Xerox DocuColor, rarely print

at resolutions above 400 PPI.

Thanks to the characteristics of

the human eye, the printer needs

this resolution for crisp black and

white text, but not for color pic-

tures. (Note that PPI and DPI

(dots per inch) are virtually

interchangeable for the purposes

of this discussion.)

The SolutionUsing Word

So, how do we optimally change

the resolution of the bitmap? If

you are using Word 2002, part of

Microsoft® Office XP, you have a

built-in tool. Those of us who are

long-time Word users waited

years for this obviously needed

feature.

1. Size the picture how you wantit to look in the document.

Using our résumé example,

this would be 1.5 inches wide.

2. With the picture selected,

click on the Compress

Pictures icon on the Picture

toolbar:

Alternatively, go to Format >

Picture, and then click on

Compress on the Format Picture

dialog. Either of these routes will

display the Compress Picture

dialog:

4. Note that you can compress

All pictures in document or

just the Selected pictures.

5. Select Print under Change

resolution. This will result in a

resolution of 200 PPI.

6. Ensure that the Compress pic-

tures and Delete cropped areas

of pictures boxes are checked.

7. Click on OK. The picture is

now at the optimum resolu-

tion for Word 2002.

8. Note that once you save and

close the document, you can’t

undo the compression!

Using Older Versions of Word

What if you’re using Word 2000,

or even Word 97? Well, you’ll

have to use a separate bitmap

editor such as Adobe®

PhotoShop®, JASC® Paint

Shop Pro™, or Microsoft Photo

Editor. If you have a résumé pho-

tograph that you want to print at

1.5 inches wide on the Word

page, refer to the

steps on the follow-

ing page to change

the resolution using

each application:



4Fall/ Winter 2002

Using Photoshop

1. Open the picture, then go to

Image > Image Size. This will dis-

play the Image Size dialog:

2. In the Document Size: frame, set

the resolution to 150 pixels/inch.

3. Make sure that the Constrain

Proportions and Resample Image

boxes are checked. The default of

Bicubic resampling is fine.

4. Now set the Width to 1.5 inches.

The Height will automatically

change to maintain the original

aspect ratio.

5. Click on OK and save the picture

under a different file name (You’ll

probably want to go back to the

original in the future).

6. You can now insert the new

bitmap into Word.

Note the Pixel Dimensions at the

top of the dialog. This indicates

the uncompressed file size, not thefile size after you’ve saved it. The

JPEG file format has inherent file

compression and the final size, in

this example, ended up at 11 KB!

Using Paint Shop Pro

1. Open the picture, then go to

Image > Resize. This will display

the Resize dialog:

2. Click on Actual / print size.

3. Set the Resolution to 150.00

Pixels / inch.

4. Make sure that the Resize all lay-ers and Maintain aspect ratio…

boxes are checked. The default of

Smart size resize type is fine.

5. Now set the Width to 1.500 inch-

es. The Height will automatically


aspect ratio.

continued on next page.

Wordman’s Production Corner

◗ Continued from page 2.



5


under a different file name. You

can now insert the new bitmap

into Word.

Using Photo Editor

1. Open the picture, then go to File

> Properties. This will display the

Properties dialog:

2. Set the Resolution to 150 Pixels /

Inch.

3. Click on OK, then go to Image >

Resize. This will display the Resize

dialog:

4. Make sure that the Smooth box is

checked and the Allow distortion

box is not checked. Set the Units

to Inches.

5. Now set the Width to 1.500 inch-

es. The Height will automatically


aspect ratio.


under a different file name. Youcan now insert the new bitmap

into Word.

SummarySo, changing the resolu-

tion of your bitmaps is

easy, does not reduce quali-

ty, but does minimize filesize, improves printing and

download time, and opti-

mizes file editing. The

minimum resolution

should be 150 PPI, with a

maximum of around 200

PPI. Happy resizing!

Note that the opposite is also true—

bitmaps with resolutions less than

150 PPI will show poor quality. This

is why most graphics captured fromweb pages are not suitable for printed

images. Web pages are generally set

for 72 to 75 PPI.

Also, note that these techniques

apply equally well to PowerPoint.

However, if you are primarily produc-

ing PowerPoint slides for electronic

presentations using a projector, opti-

mize your bitmaps to 75 PPI. Use 150

PPI as described above for printed

slides.

Trivia Time: Did you know that

“pixel” is a contraction of “picture

element?”

Look out for more production tips

from Wordman in the next issue!

You can reach Wordman via Dick

Eassom, Director of ProductDevelopment at SM&A, Newport

Beach, California—e-mail Dick at

[email protected]. Thanks

to Sean Jones of SM&A’s Art

Department for bring Wordman to

life. Wordman is © 2001-2002,

SM&A, and used with permission

by APMP. ■

Fall/Winter 2002

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